Lyric Analysis- Colder Weather

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Zac Brown Band - Colder Weather Lyrics

She'd trade Colorado if he'd take her with him
Closes the door before the winter lets the cold in,
And wonders if her love is strong enough to make him stay,
She's answered by the tail lights
Shining through the window pane

[Chorus]
He said I wanna see you again
But I'm stuck in colder weather
Maybe tomorrow will be better
Can I call you then
She said you're ramblin' man
You ain't ever gonna change
You gotta gypsy soul to blame
And you were born for leavin'

At a truck stop diner just outside of Lincoln,
The night is black as the coffee he was drinkin',
And in the waitress' eyes he sees the same 'ol light shinin',
He thinks of Colorado
And the girl he left behind

He said I wanna see you again
But I'm stuck in colder weather
Maybe tomorrow will be better
Can I call you then
She said you're ramblin' man
You ain't ever gonna change
You gotta gypsy soul to blame
And you were born for leavin'

Born for leavin'

Well it's a winding road
When your in the lost and found
You're a lover I'm a runner
We go 'round 'n 'round
And I love you but I leave you
I don't want you but I need you
You know it's you who calls me back here

Oh I wanna see you again
But I'm stuck in colder weather
Maybe tomorrow will be better
Can I call you then
'Cause I'm a ramblin' man
I ain't ever gonna change
I gotta gypsy soul
And I was born for leavin' (born for leavin')

When I close my eyes I see you
No matter where I am
I can smell your perfume through these whispering pines
I'm with your ghost again
It's a shame about the weather
I know soon we'll be together
And I can't wait 'til then
I can't wait 'til then

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Diction
Examples:

Cold Weather

• Cold
• Winter
• Colorado
• Whispering

Wandering/Lost

• Wonder
• Winding
• Road
• Round and Round
• Gypsy
• Stuck
• Leaving
• Rambling

Light and Dark

• Lights
• Shining
• Window
• Coffee
• Dark
• Night
• Black
• Ghost

Intangible Things

• Love
• Ghost
• Perfume
• Soul
• Close (my eyes)
• Lights

So What?
The cold words show how the man feels without the woman whom he left behind, uncertain. He is a runner and opens the door to uncertainty, represented by the cold. She is a lover and doesn't let cold uncertainty get to her.
The wandering words are used to show how he feels lost without her. The words all appear at times when the man is not with her.
The light is associated with the woman and how she lights up the man's path. He thinks of her in times of light and experiences darkness without her.
The intangible words are used to show that despite the man's efforts to forget the woman and feel comfortable leaving, she is omnipresent in his soul.

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Imagery

Examples:

• Touch Imagery- focused on the cold
  • "winter lets the cold in"
  • "Colorado"
  • "stuck in colder weather"
• Smell Imagery
  • "smell your perfume"
  • "pines"
  • "coffee"
• Sight Imagery
  • "tail lights shining"
  • "window pane"
  • "night is black as the coffee"
  • "'round 'n 'round"
• Taste Imagery
  • "coffee he was drinkin'"
• Sound Imagery
  • "whispering pines"
  • "ramblin' man"
  • "you who calls me back here"
• Movement Imagery
  • "winding road"
  • "we go 'round 'n 'round"

So what?
The cold imagery represents his cold, uncertain feelings when he is without the woman. She goes out into the cold while she shuts the door to cold and uncertainty.
The smell imagery represents how the woman is always present in his subconscious even when they are miles apart. He spontaneously smells her perfume and other smells such as coffee and pines remind him of her.
The sight imagery is used as an analogy for how the woman acts as his guiding light- she is associated with light and darkness is associated with him being apart. He sees the light in the waitresses' eyes and thinks of the woman he left behind.

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Syntax

• Zac Brown repeatedly replaces the proper 'ing' at the end of verbs with "in'" to appeal to his country audience and their laziness to finish speaking words.
• He uses an emdash to emphasize the contrast between himself and the woman. He is uncertain and wandering in the world of love while is sure footed.
• The lines "And I love you but I leave you / I don't want you but I need you" are of similar length and rhythm. The two lines are structured in a way to emphasize the conflict between his soul and mind- his inner feeling of love is compared with how he left and his conscious lack of want is compared with his inner need.

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ThesisMen are lost and uncertain without women and only realize their true reliance on women after wandering away into the cold.